block plane

To try and inspire you to give wooden planes a try I have endeavored to keep things within this post as simple as possible, but before we get started a bit of preamble. I’m going to avoid waxing lyrical about these planes and try to let history give you a nudge. Although wooden planes...

When I teach beginners, one of the most common phrases I hear is, “I cannot get this (insert tool name) to work. What’s wrong?” They hand the tool to me and the fun begins. Though block planes are dirt-simple handplanes, there are some important points about them that are rarely discussed in the literature....

In the August 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine (which mails to subscribers on June 13), you’ll find a review of the Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Violin Maker’s Plane (also called the 101), which is based loosely on the Stanley 101. I filmed the short video below to show how the plane comes apart, goes back...